Tights have been a fall staple for years (just ask Lindsay Lohan). But the black leggings of the past are getting a colorful new makeover for fall. Erin Fetherston paired her simple black flats with blue nylons, while Proenza Schouler used mustard-yellow tights to set off emerald-green heels. Nicole Miller went the furthest, showing tights that were not only colored (maroon) but also patterned. Go ahead, girls, and show off your legs  whatever the hue.

>Monique Lhuillier's show is traditionally jam-packed with pretty young things in the market for pretty new things to wear, and Tuesday's show was true to form. In addition to reliable old Sophia Bush, who seems to be losing her voice after her week of nonstop yapping, we spotted Entourage's Perrey Reeves — a new face, thank goodness!

In our mass-marketed and manufactured era, Laura and Kate Mulleavy, the designers of Rodarte, know the value of a little handworked originality. Their crafty collections bring a bit of the personal into an industry increasingly defined by the mass production of pricey key fobs, four-figure handbags, and heavy bottles of perfume.

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Big Names are showing daily, and the critics are quick to praise or pick apart. Diane Von Furstenberg's femme-fatale look was lauded, but Max Azria’s resurrection of the Hervé Léger label was mixed. Jonathan Saunders charmed most reviewers, but not Cathy Horyn. And Donna Karan’s time-traveling collection was confusing to all but WWD.

Our diligent correspondent reports: "They're saying a person is having heart palpitations — not sure who it is, but they're not letting anyone past check-in. I can hear sirens, but I assume they're not going to send paramedics in through the front."

The 10 a.m. start — practically the crack of dawn, really, what with being two whole hours before noon and all — of Tuesday's Badgley Mischka show apparently deterred the likes of Rose McGowan, Amy Smart, and Heather Graham from rolling out of bed and doing their hair. (Or maybe they were just downtown for the Giants parade? At the polling stations?

At the Upper East Side’s Lotus Club, designer wunderkind Chris Benz’s presentation was a refreshing distance from Bryant Park and its fustercluck of photographers and actresses. And though we do love some glitz and front-row drama, four days in we start to appreciate the relaxed and easy presentations that start on time and allow us to take our time and examine the clothes for as long as we please. It's almost too relaxed and easy to be a part of Fashion Week.

Monday was a mixed bag of no-brainer casting and compelling new faces. Runway veteran Anja Rubik lead the Oscar show. But Anna Gushina, who just debuted at Prada in September, generated significant buzz by winning Proenza Schouler’s coveted first spot.

Fashion writer Plum Sykes changed her mind about what to wear to Fashion Week at the last minute, but that doesn't prevent her from rattling off designers’ names without pause. A veteran attendee, Sykes has come to terms with the event: “You never look pretty enough. That’s the con. The pro is you see all these amazing girls in these amazing outfits, and it's so inspiring.” Watch the Video Look Book for more words of wisdom.
Vido Look Book: Plum Sykes [NYM Video]

The relationship between what goes down the runway and what gets worn on the street varies greatly: Some designers stay well within in the realm of the wearable, while others use a fashion show to make a point. In his circus-themed show, Thom Browne was trying for the latter.

Gucci's new Fifth Avenue flagship store is the subject of a surprisingly long article in today's WWD. At 46,000 square Trump Tower feet, the store dwarfs the 36,000-square-foot Abercrombie across the street. Creative director Frida Gianni says, "The idea was also to create a special environment with an emphasis on transparency and light." Perhaps she's alluding to the bling, which will be sold in an adjoining three-story jewelry shop. (There's also a VIP section, natch, accessible by a separate entrance and elevator.)

While digging around in our bags for our precious Proenza Schouler seat-assignment cards, we suddenly looked up and noticed that the space around us — formerly teeming with fashionistas — had cleared suspiciously quickly.

We may have borne inadvertent witness to a catharsis of sorts for twig-size actress Brittany Murphy. At Monday evening's Max Azria show, we caught sight of Murphy — the first celebrity to wander out from backstage after photographers waited for about 40 minutes — refusing an interview with one gossip-magazine reporter by placing her hand gently on the girl's arm and intoning, "Not for that magazine. Your magazine HURT. MY. LIFE."

We had an epiphany about Sophia Bush today. Her character on One Tree Hill is the super-successful fashion designer behind the grammar-tragedy clothing line Clothes Over Bro's. So maybe some of her appearances at Fashion Week — like tonight's, at the Ports 1961 show — can be chalked up to Method acting!

It seems plaid has finally grown out of its angry flannel phase — unlike your hipster boyfriend. This Fashion Week, grunge's mainstay looks relaxed and fluid. Y-3 used the nineties pattern in bright orange and yellow from head to toe, while Peter Som belted his gray and black patterned coat. And Preen used it as an accent to otherwise sleek looks.

There can be a tendency to question the worthiness of anyone young, adorable, and declared a pet by the entire fashion community. Perhaps this is why Jack McCullogh and Lazaro Hernandez, the young and adorable fashion-world darlings behind Proenza Schouler, work so very hard to deliver, season after season, collections that are well considered, beautifully executed, and always, always pushing their very specific vision forward.